The 'command and control' approach was critiqued in the 1960s for, among other things, its lack of regard for the actual processes of development and, in consequence, of planning itself. There was a shift in British planning from a design-based approach to one based on the formulation of policy framework. Planning theory focused on processes of rational decision making, drawing on public policy theory from the US. The heightened awareness of ‘planning as a process' raised, in addition, questions about participation in this process. Legislation was passed in the UK which institutionalized some kind of public participation in planning, based on formal consultation and public enquiries. Thus, planning began to be perceived as a process of conflict mediation where the role of the ‘experts' became one of advocacy. Healey (1995) notes that this development led to the decline in government support for planning because 'the range of interests finding the opportunity for voice within the system challenged the capacity of the political-administrative nexus to keep control of both processes and agendas during the 1980s'